GCF Newsletter : July/August 2017

NCI Highlights New Research Supported by GCF

The National Cancer Institute (NCI)tweeted about arecent Stanford University study in the journal Genome Medicine, with support from the Gastric Cancer Foundation, focused on how to overcome the constraints of cancer genomic analysis in metastatic cancer tumors. The Stanford University researchers demonstrated that using a new type of technology, referred to as linked read sequencing, can identify oncogenic rearrangements in stomach cancers. With this new genomic approach, one can generate a more complete and clear picture of genetic errors in tumors that may be drug targets.

The study is from the research group of Hanlee Ji, MD, who is leading the future development of our Gastric Cancer Registry to make it more accessible to patients and researchers.

Other Research Notes

Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals has launched aphase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the drug CCP-1xin patients with precancerous gastric lesions who are at high risk for gastric cancer. Funded by NCI, the study has a goal of enrolling 300 patients in an attempt to determine if the drug can prevent gastric cancer.

A report about recent biotech research and development trends underscores the point that research for gastric cancer is so small still that it is lumped into rare cancers; however, the article states, “of all the projects in clinical development, 822 were for orphan drugs looking to serve a market of 200,000 or less.”

Furry Friends at It Again

Residents in a small town in Japan with high rates of stomach cancer are part of a research program to see whether dogs can screen cancer by detecting odors from cancer cells. So far, they’ve found dogs were able to detect signs of cancer at nearly 100%. While dogs are expensive to train and use for this purpose, many groups are trying to automate the dog’s nose for early detection.Smithsonian Magazinereviews the accuracy of cancer-sniffing dogs and what we mere humans can learn for improved screening and detection.

NUTRITION: Summer Pizza Party

Summertime is here and patients recovering from gastric cancer shouldn’t miss out on all the bright flavors. In this GCF cooking segment, Board Member,Hans Rueffert, sharestwo delicious pizza recipesfeaturing grilled peaches – customizable based on where you are in recovery.

Supporting Research to Find a Cure

We’re excited about the promise of our updated and expanded Gastric Cancer Registry and the progress our Research Scholars are making in gastric cancer research. These initiatives fulfill the Foundation’s mission of supporting talented investigators in their pursuit of a cure for this deadly disease.